Safety landing for passenger conveyors and moving sidewalks



y 1954 K. G. BOM'AN ETAL 3,132,733

SAFETY LANDING FOR PASSENGER CONVEYORS AND MOVING SIDEWALKS Filed Oct. 26, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet l 5 w R h m u 4. N n E n V A m mm 4 mu N E m W Mn 00 .91 6 8 ,m f f y mm Q y 3 w x m m I NM mm mm 3 w xnwm m A wvllir L... w u x 1 I NN \wv ow on 3 N t mm ew fi QQESS w J V 2 mm M w n 2 m. w. 2 o N ATTORNEYS May 12, 1964 K. e. BOMAN ETAL 3,132,733

SAFETY LANDING FOR PASSENGER CONVEYORS AND MOVING SIDEWALKS s Sheets-Sheet? Filed Oct. 26. 1960 INVENTORS Karl Gunner Bomun K0 1 Berti! Verner Annerhed BY ATTORNEYS SAFETY LANDING FOR PASSENGER CONVEYORS AND MOVING SIDEWALKS Filed Oct. 26. 1960 y 1964 K. s. BOMAN ETAL a Sheets-Sheet :s

INVENTORS Korl Gunner Bomon Karl Borfll BY Vernor Annerhed 01$, Mar/13,; 54

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,132,733 SAFETY LANDING FOR PASSENGER CONVEYORS AND MOVING SIDEWALKS Karl Gunnar Roman and Karl Bertil Verner Annerhed,

both of Sandviken, Sweden, assignors to Sandvikens Jernverks Aktiebolag, Sandviken, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed Oct. 26, 1960, Ser. No. 65,041 Claims priority, application Sweden Oct. 29, 1959 10 Claims. (Cl. 19816) This invention relates to landings for passenger conveyors, and particularly to such landings of the type which project over the end of the transporting surface of a belt conveyor and is movable in relation to a stationary support.

In connection with landings for passenger conveyors, it I sometimes occurs that a passenger using the conveyor gets a part of his clothing jammed between the edge of the landing and the moving belt. This may cause severe accidents. Also, serious damage may be caused to the conveyor by foreign objects which get jammed between the landing and the belt.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved landings for conveyors. It is a further object to provide such landings for belt-type passenger conveyors. It is a further object to provide improved landings of the type wherein a supporting surface of the landing projects over the discharge end of a belt-type conveyor in the general plane of the passenger carrying portion of the conveyor. Another object of the present invention is to provide landings which tend to deflect foreign objects, including the passengers clothing, or the like which approach the landing on the conveyor. A further object is to provide landings which tend to be self-clearing when foreign objects pass between a landing and its belt. A further object is to provide improved safety mechanisms for landings and the conveyors with which they operate. A still further object is to provide improved conveyor constructions of the above nature. A still further object is to provide for the above with constructions which are sturdy, compact, dependable and adaptable to various conditions of operation and use. These and other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out below.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation with parts broken away of one embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a reduced-scale, top plan view of the embodiment of FIGURE 1 with a portion of the landing plate broken away;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are views similar to FIGURE 1, but showing other embodiments of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary top-plan view of the embodiment of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5; and,

FIGURE 7 is a reduced-scale view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing the embodiment of FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. In the various figures of the drawings, identical parts in the various embodiments have been designated by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, a conveyor is shown in the form of an endless rubber-covered,

steel belt 2 mounted upon a pair of end pulleys 1, only one of which is shown. The convey-or is adapted to carry passengers from the end not shown to a landing assembly or landing 3 at the discharge zone where the ladys foot is represented in FIGURE 1. The conveyor is provided mounted on girders 4, and includes a platform formed by.

a top plate 6 and, at the right, a receiving plate 7 which .from sidewise movement.

has a tapered or sharp edge 8 closely spaced by a slot 9 from the surface of belt 2. In FIGURE 1, landing 3 is shown in full lines in the position which it takes when a load has been placed upon it, and the fragmentary broken-line showing is the position of rest when there is no load on the landing. At the left, plate 6 is closely spaced from a stationary platform 10 with tapered or sharp edges of the plate and platform overlapping in the rest position.

Plates 6 and 7 are mounted upon and welded to a frame construction formed by a transverse angle plate 12 at the right, a pair of vertical plates 14, and a transverse bracket or angle bar 16 at the left. Rotatably mounted on stud shafts 17 fixed to the respective vertical plates 14 are four supporting rollers 18, each of which rests upon a cam block 20 adjustably mounted on the adjacent girder 4. Each of the cam blocks 20 is rigidly clamped and secured to its girder by a pair of stud bolts 22 and 24 threaded respectively in brackets 26, 28, 30 and 32 which are welded to the girder, and the bolts are locked in adjustment by lock nuts 34. Each of the cam blocks has a pair of cam surfaces 36 and'38 upon which its roller 18 rests, and each of the rollers has a flange 40 extending downwardly along the side of its cam block, so as to hold the landing Cam surface 38 on each cam block is much steeper than cam surface 36, the latter being illustratively of the order of 19 from the horizontal and the former being illustratively of the order of 49 from the horizontal. Rollers 18 rest on cam surfaces 36 and support the landing as it moves upwardly and to the left, and cam surfaces 38 act as stops which limit the movement of the landing to the right. The movement of the landing to the left is limited by a stop which is not shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, but which is of the type described below and shown in FIGURE 3.

Attached to angle bar 16 of the landing are two resilient cushioning assemblies or devices 41, each of which is formed by a block 42 of resilient rubber mounted upon the end of a stud bolt 44. Stud bolt 44 is threaded through the adjacent bracket 26, and projects through the block 42 and thence through an opening in bar 16. A metal disk .46 is positioned at the end of block 42 by a nut 48 on bolt bracket 26 is adjusted by turning bolt 44 and the adjustment is secured by a lock nut 50. At the right of landing 3, there are two resilient cushion assemblies or devices 52 identical with cushion assemblies or devices 41, and each adjustably. mounted on the adjacent bracket 32 and bearing against a bracket 54 welded to the adjacent corner of landing 3. The cushioning assemblies 41 and 52 are adjusted so as to place each of the resilient blocks 42 under slight compression and, in this way, these'assemblies hold landing 3 somewhat resiliently in the broken line position when there is no load on the landing. Thus landing 3 has the rest position shown in broken lines, but will move to the full-line position when a passenger steps thereon. Also, landing 3 may move to the left a limited amount and, during such movement, it is elevated slightly because of rollers 18 riding upwardly on the cam surfaces 36. However, this movement is essentially translational. That is, the entire landing moves in a horizontal direction at the same speed and the same distance. This translational movement will result from a foreign object or material entering the slot or gap between edge 8 of plate 7 I and belt 2, and the movement is caused by forces acting through the foreign object or material and resulting from generally horizontal movement of the adjacent portion of the belt. Hence, the landing moves in the general direction of the forces being exerted upon it, and there is no blocking or binding as would occur if the landing could not move somewhat in this manner. Small objects or accumulations of material which pass beneath the edge 8 are released by this movement of landing 3 and fall down away from the landing, and this causes the structure to be self-clearing. However, the conveyor is stopped when an object or objects pass beneath edge 8 so as to move landing 3 beyond a predetermined distance; this stopping occurs when an adjustable screw 56, at the left-hand edge of the landing, encounters and opens a stationary limit switch 58 mounted upon a cross frame member. The adjustment is such that the edge 8 does not contact belt 2 with excessive pressure at any time, and the slot 9 does not become excessively large prior to stoppage of the conveyor. Accordingly, passengers move from the conveyor with ease and complete safety.

The invention contemplates that the guide surfaces formed by cam surfaces 36 may have less or greater inclination than in the illustrative embodiment, or they may be curved. Also, under some circumstances, the rollers 18 at the left may be supported on horizontal guide surfaces so that landing 3 is lifted during movement only adjacent belt 2. The invention also contemplates that the cam blocks or their equivalents may be mounted on landing 3, with rollers 18 or their equivalents mounted on the stationary conveyor frame. Also, While the illustrative embodiment is so adjusted that the landing moves toward 'the belt when a passenger steps onto the landing, the assembly may be adjusted so that its rest position is as shown in full lines in FIGURE 1, in which case there is no movement to the right when the passenger steps onto the landing.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 3, landing 3 is supported at its four corners by four resilient means, each in the form of a heavy leaf spring 66 of steel. Each of springs 60 is attached to its lower end to a bracket 62 on the landing, and it is supported at its upper end from the 'top of a vertical stand or upright 64 which is welded to its girder 4. At the right-hand end, landing 3 is provided with two resilient assemblies 52, as in the embodiment of FIGURES 1 and 2. Adjustable stops are provided at the right and left, respectively, by adjustable stud bolts 66 and 68 mounted in fixed brackets. At the left, a limit switch 58 is provided which has an adjustable operating screw 56. When a passenger steps onto landing 3, it moves to the position shown in full lines. However, when there is no weight on landing 3, it moves to the brokenlineposition under the action of the cushioning devices 52. When an object or foreign material passes beneath edge 8, landing 3 moves to the left with a uniform supporting action by the four leaf springs 6b. In that Way, the landing is cleared of any smaller objects passing beneath its edge 8, and limit switch 58 is opened to stop the conveyor if the landing moves beyond the desired limit.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 4 to 7, belt 72 is a rubber-covered steel belt having longitudinal ribs and grooves 70-to provide better traction for the passengers. Landing 73 is'similar to landing 3, but has a comb plate 75 which has ribs or teeth which are shaped to mate with the ribs and grooves on belt 72. Comb plate 75 is fixed to a plate 76 which corresponds to plate 6 in FIGURES 1 to 3, and which has at its left end a flexible metal strip which overlies the adjacent edge of platform 10. Landing 73 is supported at each of its four corners by a sphere or ball unit 78, the construction of which is shown in FIG- URE 6. Mounted on the fixed frame is a bowl member 80 which has an opened top spherical recess in which is positioned a sphere or ball 82 which is supported upon a large number of small ball bearings 84. A locking ring seal 86 holds balls 82 and 84 in assembled condition. A

. cam block 88 is adjustably clamped to the bottom surface of plate 76 between a pair of stud bolts 90. Each of bolts 90 has a lock nut 94 and is threaded through a bracket 92 welded to plate 76. Block 88 is similar in construction to blocks 20 of FIGURES l and 2, but has its cam surfaces oppositely positioned because of the reversed relationship between the cam block andthe member rolling thereon. Hence, the landing'has the same general movement as in FIGURES 1 and 2, with thecams riding to the left on the balls 82. However, in this embodiment, there is provision for landing 73 to also move transversely so as to permit the comb plate 75 to always mate exactly with the grooves 70 in belt '72. To obtain this movement, three rollers 96, 97 and 98 are mounted on the landing, and ride against the side edge of belt 72. Roller 96 is mounted on the under side of plate 76 by a bracket 95, and rollers 97 and 98 are mounted on the opposite ends of a swinging bracket 99 which is pivoted on an arm 101 on the landing. A compression spring 1% is mounted between a bracket 102 on the bottom of the landing plate 76 and a washer 104 which is supported from the fixed conveyor frame by a bolt 1%. Therefore, the spring urges the landing and rollers 96, Q7 and 93 toward the edge of the belt, so that the rollers follow the belt edge at all times. The grooves 70 in belt '72 have a fixed relationship to the edge of the belt, and therefore the comb plate of the landing is always held in proper relationship with respect to the grooves.

The movement of the landing to the left is against the action of a pair of cushioning assemblies or devices mounted respectively on the girders 4. Each of assemblies lid is identical in operation with assembly 41 and 52., but is reversely mounted. A stud bolt 112 is journaled at its center in a fixed sleeve bracket 114, and projects through a resilient block 16 and a fixed bracket I18. Mounted upon the right-hand end of stud bolt 112 is a flanged roller 12% which rides on a track 122 carried by a bracket on the bottom of the landing plate 76. A nut 124 on the stud bolt provides adjustment. Stops (not shown) limit the movement of landing 73, and a limit switch is provided to stop the conveyor, as in the other embodiments.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 4 to 7, the landing moves somewhat as in FIGURE 3, but with the additional transverse movement. It is understood that other means may be provided for obtaining the transverse movement,

:for example, a pivot shaft perpendicular to the landing and positioned in a longitudinal slot. Also, a single roller may be used instead of the three rollers for contacting the side of the belt. It is thus seen that the landings constructed in accordance with the present invention are movable with substantial translational movement in such a way that a portion of the landing which projects over the conveyor belt moves with a horizontal component which is greater than the vertical component. The fact that the edge of the landing adjacent the conveyor belt can move in a direction which is mainly horizontal is important. This insures than an object jammed between the landing and the belt will transmit a horizontal force to the landing, and this insures safe and reliable operation.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the mechanical features of the above invention, and as the art herein described might be varied in various parts of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter hereinabove set forth, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. A conveyor system including an endless belt conveyor with a conveying surface which moves toward a discharge zone, a landing positioned at said zone and comprising, a generally rectangular landing plate assembly presenting a landing surface which is in a plane which forms a general continuation of the plane of movement of the adjacent conveying surface and is separated therefrom by a gap, and mounting means for said landing plate assembly comprising means supporting said landing plate assembly for translational movement from a rest position, wherein one edge thereof is spaced from said adjacent portion of said conveying surface in the direction toward said conveying surface to thereby reduce the width of said gap, or in the opposite direction thereby to increase the width of said gap, said mounting means including resilient means resiliently urging said landing plate assembly to said rest position and operative to oppose forces attempting to move said landing plate assembly in either of said directions.

2. A conveyor system as described in claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises two pairs of rollers and guide surface assemblies providing support for said landing plate assembly and wherein said resilient means comprises two resilient blocks positioned in substantial alignment in the general direction of movement of said landing plate assembly and an adjustable means associated with each of said blocks and acting to place its block under compression upon the movement of said landing plate assembly in one of said directions.

3. A conveyor system as described in claim 2, wherein each of said roller and guide surface assemblies comprises a cam block having a cam surface which is at an acute angle with respect to said landing surface and roller means on said landing surface with a vertical suppor ing force therebetween, and with the roller means acting to elevate said landing plate assembly upon movement thereof generally away from said belt.

4. A conveyor system as described in claim 3, wherein each of said roller means comprises a roller mounted on an axle fixed with respect to said landing plate assembly and each of said cam blocks is stationary.

5. A conveyor system as described in claim 3, wherein each of said roller means comprises a sphere rotatably mounted in a stationary spherical pocket and having an exposed top which provides a supporting force on a surface which is fixed with respect to said landing plate assembly.

6. A conveyor system as described in claim 1, wherein said belt is provided with a surface with longitudinal grooves therein, and wherein said landing plate assembly 6 includes a comb plate with an edge which substantially mates with said surface of said belt.

7. A conveyorsystem as described in claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises a plurality of leaf springs extending vertically and swingably mounting said landing plate assembly.

8. A conveyor system as described in claim 7, wherein each of said leaf springs is at an acute angle to the vertical and slants away from said belt in the downward direction.

9. A conveyor system as described in claim 1 which includes control means for said conveyor comprising an electric switch which is positioned to be operated by predetermined movement of said landing plate assembly.

10. A landing for an endless passenger conveyor belt comprising, a landing plate assembly presenting a landing surface adapted to be positioned in substantial alignment with the adjacent portion of the conveying surface of the conveyor belt, and resilient mounting means for said assembly, said resilient mounting means including .yieldable means which is operative upon either of said movements of said landing plate assembly from said rest position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,030,103 Dunlop Feb. 11, 1936 2,862,599 Sinden Dec. 2, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 767,431 France July 17, 1934 

1. A CONVEYOR SYSTEM INCLUDING AN ENDLESS BELT CONVEYOR WITH A CONVEYING SURFACE WHICH MOVES TOWARD A DISCHARGE ZONE, A LANDING POSITIONED AT SAID ZONE AND COMPRISING, A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR LANDING PLATE ASSEMBLY PRESENTING A LANDING SURFACE WHICH IS IN A PLANE WHICH FORMS A GENERAL CONTINUATION OF THE PLANE OF MOVEMENT OF THE ADJACENT CONVEYING SURFACE AND IS SEPARATED THEREFROM BY A GAP, AND MOUNTING MEANS FOR SAID LANDING PLATE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING MEANS SUPPORTING SAID LANDING PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR TRANSLATIONAL MOVEMENT FROM A REST POSITION, WHEREIN ONE EDGE THEREOF IS SPACED FROM SAID ADJACENT PORTION OF SAID CONVEYING SURFACE IN THE DIRECTION TOWARD SAID CONVEYING SURFACE TO THEREBY REDUCE THE WIDTH OF SAID GAP, OR IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION THEREBY TO INCREASE THE WIDTH OF SAID GAP, SAID MOUNTING MEANS INCLUDING RESILIENT MEANS RESILIENTLY URGING SAID LANDING PLATE ASSEMBLY TO SAID REST POSITION AND OPERATIVE TO OPPOSE FORCES ATTEMPTING TO MOVE SAID LANDING PLATE ASSEMBLY IN EITHER OF SAID DIRECTIONS. 